The security company that I work for occasionally installs phone systems. We do it so infrequently that no one in the company is very proficient. What is worse is that every time we just get one figured out they (Vodavi) goes and changes to a completly new system.
Well their newest and "simplest"(NOT) system out now is digital rather than analog. The future of phone systems...right?!? Well this new system requires a PC to be able to program it completly. Heres where it gets screwy. This system connects to the computer through a serial cable using Hyper Terminal to communicate PC/phone system.
As anyone knows newer PC's no longer have serial ports, especially laptops. Well per the instruction of the (phone) tech support we went and bought a 200$ serial port adapter(it does other things too) hooked it up and it wouldn't work. Come to find out that Hyper Terminal doesn't work through the USB port.It had to be through a modem or serial port.
Well we end up borrowing the computer from the office we are working in. This looks real professional , but hey it was an old machine running on 98 and had a serial port. We pull it up in the floor next to the closet with the KSU and start programming. TWO days worth of programming. Menus , and messages , call handling, forwarding , mailboxes , flex buttons......all the things that make a phone system work.
The KSU we put in handles 4 co lines(incoming) and 8 multi line phones. After working two days and getting everything put together the way we wanted it, the owner decides he wants to be able to expand to 16 phones w/ 8 incoming lines. No problem. There is a bay of expansion slots available for just such a thing and more.
I get the card , power down the KSU and install it. Restart the system and the additional stations wouldn't work right. The phones all powered up and showed the version info and whatnot , but wouldn't initialize.
It was already after 4 so trying to get through to tech support was no longer an option. They already have over an hour wait most of the time. I decided it would be best to try and get the thing to work myself. Ended up making a mistake on a dipswitch setting. When Ipowered the system down it defaulted all the programming. In 5 seconds I managed to undo TWO FULL DAYS of work.
My blood ran like Ice for a few minutes after I realized what I had done , deciding how to break it to the boss and to the owner of the company we are doing the work for. It was one of those moments where I wished I could fly really fast around the world backwards like Superman......NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Needless to say, my boss is super happy with me......
Well their newest and "simplest"(NOT) system out now is digital rather than analog. The future of phone systems...right?!? Well this new system requires a PC to be able to program it completly. Heres where it gets screwy. This system connects to the computer through a serial cable using Hyper Terminal to communicate PC/phone system.
As anyone knows newer PC's no longer have serial ports, especially laptops. Well per the instruction of the (phone) tech support we went and bought a 200$ serial port adapter(it does other things too) hooked it up and it wouldn't work. Come to find out that Hyper Terminal doesn't work through the USB port.It had to be through a modem or serial port.
Well we end up borrowing the computer from the office we are working in. This looks real professional , but hey it was an old machine running on 98 and had a serial port. We pull it up in the floor next to the closet with the KSU and start programming. TWO days worth of programming. Menus , and messages , call handling, forwarding , mailboxes , flex buttons......all the things that make a phone system work.
The KSU we put in handles 4 co lines(incoming) and 8 multi line phones. After working two days and getting everything put together the way we wanted it, the owner decides he wants to be able to expand to 16 phones w/ 8 incoming lines. No problem. There is a bay of expansion slots available for just such a thing and more.
I get the card , power down the KSU and install it. Restart the system and the additional stations wouldn't work right. The phones all powered up and showed the version info and whatnot , but wouldn't initialize.
It was already after 4 so trying to get through to tech support was no longer an option. They already have over an hour wait most of the time. I decided it would be best to try and get the thing to work myself. Ended up making a mistake on a dipswitch setting. When Ipowered the system down it defaulted all the programming. In 5 seconds I managed to undo TWO FULL DAYS of work.
My blood ran like Ice for a few minutes after I realized what I had done , deciding how to break it to the boss and to the owner of the company we are doing the work for. It was one of those moments where I wished I could fly really fast around the world backwards like Superman......NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Needless to say, my boss is super happy with me......
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